El Patio de los lecheros

Located at Donato Alvarez 175, in the neighborhood of Flores "El Patio de los Lecheros" was a place where daily the milk wagons or trucks picked up fresh milk brought by train from the countryside into the city and then delivered it to stores and homes in the city of Buenos Aires.

After being abandoned for decades it was renovated and reinvented as a food court

There are dozens of kiosks that offer all sorts of food, from classic argentine empanadas to a variety of ethnic food.

 

The Argentine Railrway

the argentine railways were built by the British with heavy argentine government subsidies and grants, it was at the beginning of the 20th century one of the largest in the world.

In Apri 1946 some British companies executives, started to make the arrangements for the sale of their companies to the Argentine state. A commission arrived in Buenos Aires during the winter of 1946. The Argentine Government approved the creation of a joint company to operate British railways, re-establishing the tax exemptions that had been in force during Law n° 5,315, also named "Mitre Law".

On December 17, 1946, a contract was signed by Miguel Miranda, president of Instituto Argentino de Promoción del Intercambio and the ambassador Wladimir D'Ormesson for the sale of French companies in Argentina at a global price of A$ 182,796,173 (about US$45 million). That included Compañía General de Buenos Aires, Province of Santa Fe and Rosario and Pto. Belgrano Railways.

Two weeks after the agreement signed with French companies, the Government made an offer of £ 125 million to British companies although the railways were finally acquired at £150 million. The acquisition would be paid by Argentina with exports of meat and cereal to Great Britain, which would transfer the money to the former owners of the rail companies. On March 1, 1948, the Argentine government led by president Juan Perón took over the British railways. The acquisition of the foreign railways was shown by the government as an act of sovereignty that would contribute to development of Argentine industry.

After the nationalisation, the Argentine network continued expansion until 1954, when it reached a peak of 47,000 kilometres (29,000 mi) length, the most in its history.

Unfortunately, today there are at most 5000 kilometres of operational railroads, even with an effort of the latest governments to resurrect some stations and routes.

 

Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Chascomus

As I previously mentioned Chascomu´s main attraction is its lake and lagoon which besides having some beaches is the main gathering place for the city's locals and visitors.

with its beautiful sunsets it is a place not to miss while visiting.

Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Chascomus -Club de Pelota

The "Club de Pelota" in Chascomus, located smack across the main square was built in 1925 by a group of Basque people who enjoyed the game played this version of Paddle ball.

Beyond its racket ball court it has several saloons worth visiting and a very nice restaurant.

Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Chascomus - The city

Chascomus is already 120 clicks from the big capital and boasts 30k inhabitants. Being a more historical city since it was one of the frontier towns with the natives that were not that friendly.

It also became known for the birth place of the first elected president afters the military rule. It has a variety of touristic attractions starting by its large lake or "Laguna" that is as big as the city.

It also boasts the tranquility and architecture of old colonial cities.

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Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Saint Andrews Protestant Cemetery - Chascomus

Located on the outskirts of Chascomus in the Buenos Aires province you can find a cemetery built for the English and Scottish settlers of the Pampas.

Also known as the protestant cemetery it is clearly fashioned in an English manner with its tombs with epitaphs written in English.

Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Gandara - The Abandoned Monastery

Very close to the Train station in Gandara you can find the inhabited buildin of a Catholic monastery.

The Monastery of Saint Joseph, was a minor seminary that was in use from 1940 to 1974, built on plans by Famous argentine architect Alejandro Bustillo.

Today it matches its sourroundings by being boarded up and abandoned.

Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Gandara

Once upon a time there used to be in Argentina a dairy company that made the best dulce de leche which was called Gandara, it fed all the inhabitants of its namesake town, located in Chascomus close to Provincial road ".

In the early 90s the company was bought by Italian giant Parmalat, which shortly after went bankrupt thus abandoning the factory and leaving the town to become uninhabited.

Fortunately the train still runs through the Gandara station daily so you can still visit the ruins of the factory, the town and an abandoned monastery.

Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Jeppener

Not far from General Brandsen sits Jeppener, another sleepy town with no more than 2000 souls.

Never the less there are some places worth seeing and some friendly folk to meet.

Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Coronel Brandsen

Coronel Brandsen, named after a French general that was recruited by the Argentine independents to fight against the Spanish crown, is the main city of its namesake "Partido". It sits at the intersection of provincial roads 210 and 215. 

Not much to see in town but it has a train station full of old train wagons and other abandoned railroad hardware.

The Korean Cultural Centre in Buenos Aires

The Korean Cultural Centre in Buenos Aires located at Maipu 972 in the Retiro neighbourhood.
The House also called "Residencia Hunter" or "Palacio Bencich"is a residence built in the "Petit Hotel" style very popular at the beginning of the XX century.

Recently adquired and renovated by The Korean government it serves now as its Cultural Centre in Buenos Aires.

Besides its several rooms dedicated to Korean heritage and Culture it boasts beautiful French interiors.

It can be visited daily from 9 to 6 and also has many free cultural events available.

Fundacion Romulo Ragio in Vicente Lopez

Romulo Raggio was a wealthy merchant and filantropist in the early 1900s who built himself a a small a palace like house in the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

It can be visited on weekdays from 1 to 5 pm for free.

One of its main atractions is its circular salon which gives acces to all of the main rooms in the house.

Palacio Noel - Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano

You may have noticed that in the city of Buenos Aires there are not many colonial houses, something that you will find all over Mexico, Colombia or Peru. One reason being that at the time of the colony Buenos Aires was an insignificant port inhabited by a few merchants.
The city prospered and grew in the late 1800s and early 1900s when the predominant architecture was classic or Art Nuveau among others.

Housed in the beautiful Palacio Noel, the Isaac Fernández Blanco, has one of the world's most important collections of Spanish-American art.
The collection includes items covering the entire period of Spanish rule in Latin America, from colonization to independence, ranging from silver work from Peru and the Rio de la Plata region, Peruvian paintings and furniture from Portuguese Brazil, to combs used by women in the Rio de la Plata region in the first half of the 19th century.

The neocolonial Palacio Noel was built in the 1920s by architect Martín Noel as his private home, and is surrounded by Spanish-influenced gardens. In spring and summer, open air concerts, conferences, theater performances and book presentations are held.

Palacio Errazuriz - Museo de Arte Decorativo

Here is a place worth visiting in Buenos Aires, The The National Museum of Decorative Arts.The Palace has its origins in a marriage in 1897 between two prominent members of turn-of-the-century Argentine high society: Matías Errazúriz, the son of Chilean émigrés, and Josefina de Alvear,

The couple commissioned French architect Rene Sergent in 1911 to design a mansion for Errazúriz's future retirement from the diplomatic corps, in which he had been Ambassador to France for a number of years. Completed in 1916, the couple devoted the following two years to decorating the palace, purchasing a large volume of antiques and other objets d'art.

When Mrs. Errazúriz died in 1935, however, the widower bequeathed the mansion to the Argentine government, on his son's and daughter's advice. The National Museum of Decorative Arts was established in 1937

The Trip to Villa Epecuen - Buenos Aires province - Villa Epecuen - The Cemetery

You should definitely include the Epecuen - Carhue cemetery in your list of creepy places

When the waters of Lake Epecuen engulfed the city it also flooded the cemetery prompting some of the newly buried coffins to float and end up in the new shores of the lake.

Many people hurried frantically to collect the remains of loved ones before the water covered the cemetery for good.

Today the graves lie open and the monuments in pieces after 30 years of being under salty waters.